Tonight's presidential debate is ostensibly about foreign policy, but budget politics will underlie everything the two candidates say. That's because America's foreign policy is scripted by two factors: its pocketbook and its willingness to write checks for overseas military engagements.

When gas prices hit $4 at the pump earlier this summer, a lot of motorists were crying, "Uncle!" They'd be crying all the louder if they realized those first four bucks didn't cover half of it. It's just that the remainder is hidden in your tax bill.

If you think you're paying a lot at the gas pump now, just wait until summer hits. Stronger demand could lead to record gas prices as an economic recovery takes hold and turmoil in the Middle East sends the price of oil upward. How high? $5 a gallon isn't out of the realm of the possible.

The smart money has been predicting lately that gas prices would fall. Oil has been below $90 a barrel since early August and the International Energy Agency has cut its estimates for crude oil use for the year. But the price of a gallon of unleaded is the virtually the same as it was a year ago.

The macaron is a filled cookie about the diameter of a half dollar coin that has become a foodie currency in its own right in recent years. It's simple in concept, but near impossible to get right -- and for the first time, the French bakery and tearoom that made them famous is opening a U.S. boutique. So, let them eat cake!

Describing the president as "deeply concerned" about the impact on global economic growth of oil supply disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa, the Obama administration announced it would release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next 30 days.

Just as fast as gas prices rose, they're now in retreat. Monday's AAA Fuel Report Gage puts the national average of regular at $3.703, down from $3.970 a month ago. Several factors could push gas below $3.50 over the next several weeks, and almost none of them were part of the economic landscape a quarter ago.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are all trading near multi-year highs, and even BP shares have done well recently. Still, while the high oil prices that have been pinching consumers have been great for the industry, there are good reasons not to count on those high stock values lasting.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said his country cut oil production in March because the market was oversupplied. Was this move an honest bid to a bid to expose the speculators and push prices back down, or an attempt to capitalize on the current instability to propel prices higher?

Despite turmoil around the world, U.S. markets have been rising again, but is this a temporary bump, or the return of a bull market? The sharp-eyed analysts of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs say its the latter, and their money is on strong growth ahead.

Investors are running scared after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan and left it with an ongoing nuclear crisis. Pain for Japan could easily infect the global economy. But when there's gloom in the air, there's also opportunity to buy on the dip and gain from the rebound.

The Japanese are the world's most voracious consumers of luxury goods, from Louis Vuitton handbags to Cartier jewelry to Hermes high fashion. So purveyors of those luxury goods are justifiably worried about the effect of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on their bottom lines.

Most Wall Street experts are far better equipped to analyze corporate risks rather than political ones. But today, it's political unrest in the Middle East and beyond that's driving world markets. So we asked Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy The Eurasia Group, to break down the major developments and what investors should expect.

Fears over Mideast turmoil have pushed oil and gas prices sky high, which risks tipping the U.S. economy back in to a recession. But the government isn't powerless when it comes to oil prices: Here are five things that Washington and the states can do that would quickly reduce our pain at the pump.

And that means it may be time for owners of gas-thirsty SUVs and cars to start considering the switch so many Americans are loath to make: to a far more fuel-efficient vehicle. Looking out over the next several years, it's hard to see oil -- and gasoline -- falling back to earlier lows.

You probably have heard that the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of oil. But did you know that we're also the third-largest producer of oil? And yes, the U.S. imports more than half its oil. But our two biggest suppliers are our nearest neighbors.

Egypt's famed antiquities and tourism sites are reopening following the political unrest there. But heeding warnings from Washington, many American travelers are steering clear from the region for now -- disrupting the tourism industry in both the U.S. and Egypt.

Americans could see gasoline spiking 10% to 18% higher in coming weeks as a result of the unrest in the Middle East, but they're unlikely go above $4 a gallon -- unless the uprisings spread to Saudi Arabia. In that case, all bets are off.

Proponents of the peak-oil theory can muster studies and statistics backing their claim that declining global oil output is nigh. Critics point to new technologies and unconventional oil fields as saviors. Either way, a return to the days of $1.50-a-gallon gasoline isn't going to happen.